Star Trek Addons

[abs 2]

;) They're visiting it in the holodeck, if I remember correctly, because I hated that episode.

Hey Abs, do you have a warp drive functionality for the Enterprise? :)

As Grub mentioned, the scale of things doesn't allow for warp drive. The best I could hope for is making short hops between a few planets here and there. Viewdistance also kinda limits that. The larger ships are meant for either cutscenes, or if all goes well with my testing, some battles.

Abs

[kage74 10]

Star Trek Mod is schweetz!

Make it so.

[abs 2]

Stardate 22011.6

CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

No authorization for any personnel outside of Starfleet Intelligence, or below the rank of Rear Admiral to view this file.

We have received reports of a previously unknown type of ship violating soverign Federation space today from Earth Outpost Three in Sector Z-6 today. All attempts to hail the ship were met with silence.

The outpost proceeded to request immediate assistance from the U.S.S. Yorktown, however by the time the Yorktown arrived on the scene the unknown ship had somehow disappeared from sensors. A level one diagnostic of the scanners on the outpost showed no malfunctions in the equipment. According to Ensign Maclellon who was operating the sensors at the time: "It's like the ship just became invisible."

Due to the nature of the location of Earth Outpost Three in the proximity of the Romulan Neutral Zone, it can be logically conluded that the ship is a new Romulan design that Starfleet was not been aware of before. The bird of prey painted underneath the ship are also indicative of a ship of the Romulan fleet. The capabilities of the vessel are unknown. The armament of the vessel is unknown.

If the ship is of Romulan design, then it is the belief of this intelligence analyst that the Federation treat this as a threat of the highest degree. The Earth-Romulan War has shown us that the Romulans are a formidable enemy that we know very little about. We should allocate more resources in the form of starships to the Neutral Zone. In addition, covert operations should be enacted to determine the technical specifications of the vessel so that the Federation will be prepared should the Romulans attempt to start another war by violating the current peace treaty.

Included in this file are two long-range scans of the ship.

End recording.

Abs

Edited February 6, 2011 by Abs

[abs 2]

Hey...so like I said in the first post, these addons are my way of learning as much as I can about addon making...so with that I'm trying to move on to the textures other than diffuse.

I did some searching, and found this brief guide by da12thMonkey, and followed it. Using the texview method, what resulted was as follows...

Now my question is: is this the way the SMDI texture supposed to look? I looked at a few of the SMDI textures from BI PBOs, and they all look primarily purple. So, this leaves me wondering if I'm doing the right thing...

If anyone can give me some guidance, I'd kill a goat for them. Thanks.

Abs

[[frl]myke 14]

If it looks ingame as expected, then it is good. ;)

[abs 2]

Myke;1852080']If it looks ingame as expected' date=' then it is good. ;)[/quote']

Fair enough...it just didn't look like anything I've seen before, so I was curious if I was making a mistake. Thanks Myke. ;)

Abs

[bad benson 1733]

is it in paa format already. cuz if i remember right the colour changes a bit when converting to paa. not sure though.

[[frl]myke 14]

is it in paa format already. cuz if i remember right the colour changes a bit when converting to paa. not sure though.

Happens only (afaik) if texture is not in size of power of 2. So 1000x1000px would give that result while 1024x1024px should be fine.

[abs 2]

Yep...it's definitely in paa format (RomBoP_SMDI.paa), an the size is 2048x2048.

...and it doesn't look properly in-game...though I wasn't sure if that's because I'm missing the *_nohq file yet. :/

Abs

[da12thMonkey 1943]

I did some searching, and found this brief guide by da12thMonkey, and followed it. Using the texview method, what resulted was as follows...

g

The filter thing isn't a particularly good method if you're doing proper specular maps. It just makes for something roughly acceptable if you only have a diffuse texture to make the smdi from to begin with and only works well for grey things like guns, which I knew were Christian's circumstances at the time. For anything with a bit of colour the results are rarely good even for a start point.

Looking at the pic you posted the first thing I noticed that the red channel is still in greyscale rather than being completely white like ArmA smdi files normally have - this is the main problem.

Since you've done the textures yourself and have a layered image file (like a .psd) you can probably do it with much more finesse than simply adjusting brightness/contrast of the image as a whole.

For the most part you should only concern yourself with the green channel. Make whiter parts shiny and blacker parts matte. The blue channel is generally completely white like the red channel, and only needs greys and blacks to remove the specularity from specific details in the texture.

Start off by converting the image into greyscale without merging/flattening the layers then back to RGB mode (so that you have the R G and B channels available to manipulate later).

Adjust the grey colour of your main texture base (the layers that corresponds to the paint scheme of your model) to a mid-grey colour. Then go through the rest of your layers looking for details that would have a different specularity to the paintwork on your model, and adjust the shade of grey on these layers to be lighter or darker than the base grey, depending on whether they should be shinier or matter than the paint. For example any dirt or scorching overlays you might have used - these should be darker than the paint; scratch overlays, bare metal like chipped paint, and glass parts should be white.

You can hide any layers that don't affect the overall specularity of the material. For example, if you want the red warbird mural/decals to be the same specularity as the base grey paintjob - just hide it.

Once you've got the greyscale with all the specular details you want save another copy of the layered format file, you can then merge the layers. Open up the channels window with white as secondary brush colour. Then in the red and blue channels press ctrl+A to select everything and ctrl+x to cut it out, leaving you with just the white background in the R and B channels and your greyscale in G.

Save this as your _smdi.tga and have a look at it in O2. If the specularity isn't right, you can then start adjusting brighness/contrast of the G channel again.

If there are specific details you want to make even matter; you can then load up the greyscale layered file, hide all but the specular highlights like scratches and windows, and the mid-grey for the paint, leaving you with just the matte components. Put a white background under this and use it for your blue channel in the smdi.tga you saved by simply pasting it in to the B channel.

If there's any more specific help you want mate, just send me a PM.

[abs 2]

Awesome guide! Thanks, da12thmonkey. One goat will be sacrificed for you. :)

I'll give it a shot and post the results later. Thanks again!

Abs

[topas 1]

Hey Abs,

Will send you a detailed report from the shakedown cruise over the desert map sometime soon. Before I do; one mention though - I know this would not be canon, as it was not in the show; but will you perhaps add glass to Galileo's windows?

Probably they used forcefields and such; but it's just an idea ;)

Anyway, it adds to the model:

qYox8-I2T2c

[Beagle 684]

Hey Abs,

Will send you a detailed report from the shakedown cruise over the desert map sometime soon. Before I do; one mention though - I know this would not be canon, as it was not in the show; but will you perhaps add glass to Galileo's windows?

Probably they used forcefields and such; but it's just an idea ;)

Anyway, it adds to the model:

qYox8-I2T2c

In the shows the shuttles have "glass" cockpit windows, even this from the 24th century...but we trekkies know thats this windows are made from "transparent aluminum" and other transparent made metal composites.

[topas 1]

In the shows the shuttles have "glass" cockpit windows, even this from the 24th century

I remember the 'glass' from all TNG and post TNG series. In the TOS/TMP era can't remember seeing it before the 5th movie, where the design was already strongly influenced by TNG.

On the interior shots it looks like it's just a hole with no glass. Otherwise the interior would be reflected.

Hence my proposal :)

[Beagle 684]

I remember the 'glass' from all TNG and post TNG series. In the TOS/TMP era can't remember seeing it before the 5th movie, where the design was already strongly influenced by TNG.

On the interior shots it looks like it's just a hole with no glass. Otherwise the interior would be reflected.

Hence my proposal :)

You know that TOS was a low budget production ?

[topas 1]

Sure I do.

Anyway, was just a proposal to add some glass to the cockpit of the addon; opposed to the glassless original. Let's end it here, otherwise it turns into a pointless discussion on props and budget of the series ;)

[abs 2]

You know that TOS was a low budget production ?

You know that this is a low budget mod? ;) Just kidding.

Topas: Somewhere along the way it looks like I lost the glass I already had in place. It will be fixed in the interior model, which is far higher poly than what you see now. I don't know if I'll add it for LOD0, because I wouldn't know what to use for a reflective texture: space, or the standard cockpit glass texture.

Interior WIP:

Abs

[topas 1]

Thx for the info

While you're at it you probably noticed it yourself. While in pilot view there's a horizontal 'glow' just above the dashboard. You may get an idea there is an interstice, thru which outter light comes in to the cockpit - but there is surely none. Screens follow once I'm back home :)

[abs 2]

Thx for the info

While you're at it you probably noticed it yourself. While in pilot view there's a horizontal 'glow' just above the dashboard. You may get an idea there is an interstice, thru which outter light comes in to the cockpit - but there is surely none. Screens follow once I'm back home :)

Probably the same reason as the missing windows...I just made the Lod 0 the interior for now. The interior I have in progress should fix the issues.

Abs

[topas 1]

Ok, so since there's a new version coming up I'll just hold down with reports for now.

PS: Did you make any thoughts regarding the sounds? If there's nothing available for free in any sample-databases, or whatever; try googleing for '3rd Era Productions'; Guys have done their good share of work in the past years and presumably wouldn't mind borrowing you what's needed (or directing you to other possible sources within their community)

[abs 2]

I'll check them out! Haven't heard of them before. :) Thanks Topas.

Hope you're having fun beta testing.

Abs

[abs 2]

Hello,

I'm looking for the help of a texture artist who is willing to texture the interior LOD of the shuttlecraft. I find that my skills are too inadequate right now, and rather than keep the community wait until I feel I'm up to par, I thought I would put out this want ad.

The model is already UV mapped. All you would have to do is colour it. This is the model you would be texturing:

http://www.picdrop.net/images/Inside.png

If you're interested, send me a PM on the forums with your email address and I'll send the model and my texture attempt to you.

Thanks in advance.

Abs

[topas 1]

:619:

it does include pilot/navigator consoles and instrument panels, right?

[abs 2]

Yep....all the dials and switches are modeled. :)

Abs

[Laqueesha 474]

Looking good, Abs! Can't wait to try it out in the asteroid field map. ;)

it does include pilot/navigator consoles and instrument panels, right?

Knowing Star Trek: TOS, it'll all just be coloured light bulbs anyway. :D